Wheels Thread

[thanksgiving]

i believe the 58 size is all black ^

anyone in canada interested in getting two pairs each? i want the brown and black.

[Xen]

Looks like bones x 97s drop tomorrow

[FuzzGNU]

Looks like bones x 97s drop tomorrow

Oh fuck, nice.

I'm very cautious about these to be honest... but man the 97a test batch were fast as fuck, if nothing else. I just have doubts about their ability to ride crusty streets and cracks... but hopefully they have honed these in the past 6 months or so.

Dragons are still my favorite wheel even after the honeymoon phase is over. Its awesome to basically not have to worry about pebbles anymore. I doubt the 97a in this formula will be soft enough to do the same, but who knows, since F4 97a Spitfire handle pebbles very well themselves.

https://www.skateone.com/skateboard-wheels/x-formula

Looks like they are going with V5 (Conical) and V6 (Conical Full) essentially for the smaller and larger wheels respectively. Probably a good call. I love the V6, and V5 is probably better than their really slim wheels for the things these wheels are intended for.

[LebowskisRug]

The 97 X Formula felt much closer to a Dragon than the 97 prototypes I had. So, you should be in luck if you want a slightly harder/faster version. To be honest they didn't feel insanely different, much less so than I had expected.

[Uncle Flea]

This was in storage. Old wheel co. I rode them.

[Xen]

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Looks like bones x 97s drop tomorrow

[close]

Oh fuck, nice.

I'm very cautious about these to be honest... but man the 97a test batch were fast as fuck, if nothing else. I just have doubts about their ability to ride crusty streets and cracks... but hopefully they have honed these in the past 6 months or so.

Dragons are still my favorite wheel even after the honeymoon phase is over. Its awesome to basically not have to worry about pebbles anymore. I doubt the 97a in this formula will be soft enough to do the same, but who knows, since F4 97a Spitfire handle pebbles very well themselves.

https://www.skateone.com/skateboard-wheels/x-formula

Looks like they are going with V5 (Conical) and V6 (Conical Full) essentially for the smaller and larger wheels respectively. Probably a good call. I love the V6, and V5 is probably better than their really slim wheels for the things these wheels are intended for.

They’re up on SkateOne

[backinaction]

[Xen]

^^ falls in line with what others have said, bit harder/less bouncy /slightly less grippy than the 93s (which one could expect of any wheel).

Seem like a pretty good option for masonite/skatelite but they're clearly crust crunchers. Looking forward to getting some; I went form 93 dragons to 99a spits, the spits felt sooo hard, but for sure slid better on blunts, but didn't throw me off on anything else and like the vid, I totally missed the smooth/less vibration feel the dragons provided.

[Xen]

^^ falls in line with what others have said, bit harder/less bouncy /slightly less grippy than the 93s (which one could expect of any wheel).

Seem like a pretty good option for masonite/skatelite but they're clearly crust crunchers. Looking forward to getting some; I went form 93 dragons to 99a spits, the spits felt sooo hard, but for sure slid better on blunts, but didn't throw me off on anything else and like the vid, I totally missed the smooth/less vibration feel the dragons provided.

Got to ride some at length today, very low impact skating; I also had the 93 dragons, 99a and 103 STFs setup as well...

Less bouncy than 93 dragons, harder for sure, less vibration absorption so not as smooth...they actually feel harder in slides than the 99stfs (I don't care for that formula duro). I'd put them safely between the 99a and 103b STFs to be honest...and I wouldn't see any reason to ride 99a STFs ever again.

There was a considerable rough patch, and I fucking SLIPPED out on it, any other wheel and you'd get pitched, was really weird; I unbalanced my weight and just slide across it.

They're very close to spit 97a but slide way better for me and actually feel harder in their vibration absorption capabilities.

Can't see going back to dragons unless the terrain calls for it (if I were the type that needed a clip or whatever and the spot was gnar)...and for where I skate, no reason to go for 99a spits either...probably only move to 101/103 for smooth park, unless these prove ok, won't be until after xmas when I'll able to check them out in a park/smooth plaza scenario.

[goodatmeth]

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^^ falls in line with what others have said, bit harder/less bouncy /slightly less grippy than the 93s (which one could expect of any wheel).

Seem like a pretty good option for masonite/skatelite but they're clearly crust crunchers. Looking forward to getting some; I went form 93 dragons to 99a spits, the spits felt sooo hard, but for sure slid better on blunts, but didn't throw me off on anything else and like the vid, I totally missed the smooth/less vibration feel the dragons provided.

[close]

Got to ride some at length today, very low impact skating; I also had the 93 dragons, 99a and 103 STFs setup as well...

Less bouncy than 93 dragons, harder for sure, less vibration absorption so not as smooth...they actually feel harder in slides than the 99stfs (I don't care for that formula duro). I'd put them safely between the 99a and 103b STFs to be honest...and I wouldn't see any reason to ride 99a STFs ever again.

There was a considerable rough patch, and I fucking SLIPPED out on it, any other wheel and you'd get pitched, was really weird; I unbalanced my weight and just slide across it.

They're very close to spit 97a but slide way better for me and actually feel harder in their vibration absorption capabilities.

Can't see going back to dragons unless the terrain calls for it (if I were the type that needed a clip or whatever and the spot was gnar)...and for where I skate, no reason to go for 99a spits either...probably only move to 101/103 for smooth park, unless these prove ok, won't be until after xmas will I be able to check them out in a park/smooth plaza scenario).

Anything you can say about speed compared to dragons yet? I wonder if bones just stop selling the 99a, there's really no point and I regret buying them.

Also crazy to see the non-hype on these wheels after everyone losing their mind over the dragons

[Xen]

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^^ falls in line with what others have said, bit harder/less bouncy /slightly less grippy than the 93s (which one could expect of any wheel).

Seem like a pretty good option for masonite/skatelite but they're clearly crust crunchers. Looking forward to getting some; I went form 93 dragons to 99a spits, the spits felt sooo hard, but for sure slid better on blunts, but didn't throw me off on anything else and like the vid, I totally missed the smooth/less vibration feel the dragons provided.

[close]

Got to ride some at length today, very low impact skating; I also had the 93 dragons, 99a and 103 STFs setup as well...

Less bouncy than 93 dragons, harder for sure, less vibration absorption so not as smooth...they actually feel harder in slides than the 99stfs (I don't care for that formula duro). I'd put them safely between the 99a and 103b STFs to be honest...and I wouldn't see any reason to ride 99a STFs ever again.

There was a considerable rough patch, and I fucking SLIPPED out on it, any other wheel and you'd get pitched, was really weird; I unbalanced my weight and just slide across it.

They're very close to spit 97a but slide way better for me and actually feel harder in their vibration absorption capabilities.

Can't see going back to dragons unless the terrain calls for it (if I were the type that needed a clip or whatever and the spot was gnar)...and for where I skate, no reason to go for 99a spits either...probably only move to 101/103 for smooth park, unless these prove ok, won't be until after xmas will I be able to check them out in a park/smooth plaza scenario).

[close]

Anything you can say about speed compared to dragons yet? I wonder if bones just stop selling the 99a, there's really no point and I regret buying them.

Also crazy to see the non-hype on these wheels after everyone losing their mind over the dragons

@goodatmeth

Forgot to add that!

Yes, they feel faster than dragons, tho I will say that's a tough read because the dragons are softer/smoother since the x97s are harder feeling, so that 'rough terrain' vibration IS there compared to the smooth dragons (but still muted compared to a spit 99a); Also, this set is 54mm V5 vs my dragons @52mm V1, FWIW.

Grinds and slides, they were less gummy feeling as well but that didn't make them feel 'hard' like a spit 99a, but I didn't feel like I was hindered in anyway...and much better in those situations than the 97a spit.

Yeah the 99a bones are superflous now, but they were before as there would be no reason to skate them over a spit 99a.

[FuzzGNU]

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^^ falls in line with what others have said, bit harder/less bouncy /slightly less grippy than the 93s (which one could expect of any wheel).

Seem like a pretty good option for masonite/skatelite but they're clearly crust crunchers. Looking forward to getting some; I went form 93 dragons to 99a spits, the spits felt sooo hard, but for sure slid better on blunts, but didn't throw me off on anything else and like the vid, I totally missed the smooth/less vibration feel the dragons provided.

[close]

Got to ride some at length today, very low impact skating; I also had the 93 dragons, 99a and 103 STFs setup as well...

Less bouncy than 93 dragons, harder for sure, less vibration absorption so not as smooth...they actually feel harder in slides than the 99stfs (I don't care for that formula duro). I'd put them safely between the 99a and 103b STFs to be honest...and I wouldn't see any reason to ride 99a STFs ever again.

There was a considerable rough patch, and I fucking SLIPPED out on it, any other wheel and you'd get pitched, was really weird; I unbalanced my weight and just slide across it.

They're very close to spit 97a but slide way better for me and actually feel harder in their vibration absorption capabilities.

Can't see going back to dragons unless the terrain calls for it (if I were the type that needed a clip or whatever and the spot was gnar)...and for where I skate, no reason to go for 99a spits either...probably only move to 101/103 for smooth park, unless these prove ok, won't be until after xmas will I be able to check them out in a park/smooth plaza scenario).

[close]

Anything you can say about speed compared to dragons yet? I wonder if bones just stop selling the 99a, there's really no point and I regret buying them.

Also crazy to see the non-hype on these wheels after everyone losing their mind over the dragons

[close]

@goodatmeth

Forgot to add that!

Yes, they feel faster than dragons, tho I will say that's a tough read because the dragons are softer/smoother since the x97s are harder feeling, so that 'rough terrain' vibration IS there compared to the smooth dragons (but still muted compared to a spit 99a); Also, this set is 54mm V5 vs my dragons @52mm V1, FWIW.

Grinds and slides, they were less gummy feeling as well but that didn't make them feel 'hard' like a spit 99a, but I didn't feel like I was hindered in anyway...and much better in those situations than the 97a spit.

Yeah the 99a bones are superflous now, but they were before as there would be no reason to skate them over a spit 99a.

Yeah the 99a Bones were so close to being good. They were fast as fuck, and handled bad terrain surprisingly well for a 99. But the slide was so fucking atrocious that they were unskateable.

I'll have to check out Bones X in the Spring. The reasons why I'm not as hyped are because 1) they are being released while there is snow on the ground and 2) Dragons had already "solved" skating in my particular neighborhood, and Bones X would ride worse than those with how shitty things are around here.

If Dragons weren't already out, I'm sure I would be more hyped on Bones X, but for now Dragons are that sweet spot for me. Dragons were a "need" for me, where as Bones X are a "want". Something fun to try/experiment with, but will be objectively less useful for me by comparison for my current skate situation.

[Xen]

Thing is, those 99a EZ streets were fucking amazing...then they botched it with the dirty birds/natruals/brown ass wheels and fucked everything up (including the regular 103b STFs). Dumb move.

[FuzzGNU]

Thing is, those 99a EZ streets were fucking amazing...then they botched it with the dirty birds/natruals/brown ass wheels and fucked everything up (including the regular 103b STFs). Dumb move.

Yeah I had only tried the white 103a (loved them) and natural 99a (again, unskateable). The white 99a sound amazing from whats been described... would you say the Bones X 97a are comparable to the white 99a, or even better?

[Xen]

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Thing is, those 99a EZ streets were fucking amazing...then they botched it with the dirty birds/natruals/brown ass wheels and fucked everything up (including the regular 103b STFs). Dumb move.

[close]

Yeah I had only tried the white 103a (loved them) and natural 99a (again, unskateable). The white 99a sound amazing from whats been described... would you say the Bones X 97a are comparable to the white 99a, or even better?

The 99a ez streets?

These are very different the ez were a regular/proper feeling 99a stf, comparable to the 99a spit depending on your wheel feel preferences (i.e., you never had an issue with how bones feel).

I’d pick the 97a bones x over any 99a offering really they do what 99s do but smoother on rough shit.

Nothing blunt slides like 101/103b tho.

[iw0]

anyone know what's up with NFG? site is down, insta gone and google listing as perma closed. seems sudden though?

[dr.prestige]

anyone know what's up with NFG? site is down, insta gone and google listing as perma closed. seems sudden though?

From what I've heard from friends that worked for/were sponsored by them it sounds like they're going out of business. Hit up @cute_emoqueen on Instagram if you want to get any of their last stock.

[iw0]

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anyone know what's up with NFG? site is down, insta gone and google listing as perma closed. seems sudden though?

[close]

From what I've heard from friends that worked for/were sponsored by them it sounds like they're going out of business. Hit up @cute_emoqueen on Instagram if you want to get any of their last stock.

bummer, but thanks for the info! wonder where that's gonna leave loophole

[FuzzGNU]

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anyone know what's up with NFG? site is down, insta gone and google listing as perma closed. seems sudden though?

[close]

From what I've heard from friends that worked for/were sponsored by them it sounds like they're going out of business. Hit up @cute_emoqueen on Instagram if you want to get any of their last stock.

Damn, that's sad. I know a lot of people on here swear by their wheels. How do they go under but wheel brands that don't really have any fans still live on?

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anyone know what's up with NFG? site is down, insta gone and google listing as perma closed. seems sudden though?

[close]

From what I've heard from friends that worked for/were sponsored by them it sounds like they're going out of business. Hit up @cute_emoqueen on Instagram if you want to get any of their last stock.

[close]

bummer, but thanks for the info! wonder where that's gonna leave loophole

They're going to switch to BBS wood like everyone else 

[LebowskisRug]

They went under because at least of people I've met the only actual fans of Loophole/NFG seem to be on here. A number of people I know wanted to try them and also found that they had a lot of bubbles (prob doesn't matter but looks shitty), weren't really advantageous over Bones or F4, often were not the size they claimed on the package, and didn't offer anything any other brand didn't unless you really want to only buy from a small company. I can respect that, but like said friends I'm not going to spend the limited time I have on a board to ride an inferior product. People on here acted like they were an improved F4, but for me they slid worse than my 97a F4 and were not as fast.

[beandemon]

They went under because at least of people I've met the only actual fans of Loophole/NFG seem to be on here. A number of people I know wanted to try them and also found that they had a lot of bubbles (prob doesn't matter but looks shitty), weren't really advantageous over Bones or F4, often were not the size they claimed on the package, and didn't offer anything any other brand didn't unless you really want to only buy from a small company. I can respect that, but like said friends I'm not going to spend the limited time I have on a board to ride an inferior product. People on here acted like they were an improved F4, but for me they slid worse than my 97a F4 and were not as fast.

I tried them and had a similar take. Bubbles looked ass but didn’t really matter. Actually really liked the 95’s but they got bearing seat stretch right way too quick. Felt better than 97 f4 but didn’t last. Then again, 97 f4 is the deadest soft wheel I’ve ridden- which is probably why some folks like them - not bouncing around like a $.25 super ball. Now that I think on it, I went from 56 99 f4s severely worn to <52 with clapped out bearings to NFG 56mm with fresh bearings. Maybe they were always meh but the size and bearings masked it?

[Gray Imp Sausage Metal]

wait what? does that mean I need to stockpile loopholes?

also:

I'm not going to spend the limited time I have on a board to ride an inferior product.

They are the best wheels I've ever ridden period!

[logjammin]

Kinda bogus how NFG just disappeared like that and no thanks for the support to all the people including me that paid a lot of money on their wheels many times, along with people who donated to their gofundme to help them better their production output.

[Richard Skidder]

Kinda bogus how NFG just disappeared like that and no thanks for the support to all the people including me that paid a lot of money on their wheels many times, along with people who donated to their gofundme to help them better their production output.

Always wondered if it was a cheesy move to start a GoFundMe for a skateboarding company. What’s the consensus?

[Lee Ralphs Dear Old Mum]

I knew the wheel Wizard couldn't be trusted but still those wheels were a good second best to F4s IMO. LoopHole is super sick also. I hope they can find some new 'thane and keep it going.

[El Freegano]

The NFG urethane is inferior to F4 and may be bones, but i have been skating loops for more than an year and i am quite content - no flat sopts despite all the powerslides, the ride is smooth and i am a fan of the brand and the team. I have stocked with 3 sets earlier this year and will be fine for some time, but i hope Loophole can find good manufacturing for the future.

[GetItStraitRideKrooked]

I got a set of 54mm V6 Bones X-97 formula and they are way better than the prototype 97's I was riding earlier. And in that conical full shape which I'm stoked on. For me, I don't notice the sticking on ledges that have a metal edge with crooks like I experienced with Dragons. Seems like a good all around wheel that works in skateparks without feeling sluggish like dragons and pretty good at handling crust too (though obviously not as good as dragons). These seem like a throw it on your board and not worry about changing your wheels kinda wheel. Blunts still work for me but I do have to sit in that back heel pocket.

I'm also hyped Bones knows what's good and made these untreaded unlike the dragons.

Overall, I'm pretty stoked on these and will probably buy another set. I hope Bones does a X-99 at some point, that would be the my go-to skatepark wheel for sure. I'm hoping it'd fix the slideability issue with the STF 99's (excluding the EZ streets which I gotta find my old set of).

[yourbreakfsat]

anyone know what's up with NFG? site is down, insta gone and google listing as perma closed. seems sudden though?

The wheel finish was rough and the graphics quality was bad, but performance wise these were great wheels.  :'(

[iw0]

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anyone know what's up with NFG? site is down, insta gone and google listing as perma closed. seems sudden though?

[close]

The wheel finish was rough and the graphics quality was bad, but performance wise these were great wheels.  :'(

welp, guess i'm gonna be trying the conicals everyone's going on about

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anyone know what's up with NFG? site is down, insta gone and google listing as perma closed. seems sudden though?

[close]

From what I've heard from friends that worked for/were sponsored by them it sounds like they're going out of business. Hit up @cute_emoqueen on Instagram if you want to get any of their last stock.

[close]

bummer, but thanks for the info! wonder where that's gonna leave loophole

[close]

They're going to switch to BBS wood like everyone else 

zing

[LebowskisRug]

Expand Quote

anyone know what's up with NFG? site is down, insta gone and google listing as perma closed. seems sudden though?

[close]

The wheel finish was rough and the graphics quality was bad, but performance wise these were great wheels.  :'(

Not as bad as that poster's grammar...